Baidu To Establish New Independent Company To Provide Online Video to Chinese Internet Users January 6, 2010

Baidu, Inc., the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, today announced its plan to establish a new independent company to provide licensed online video to Chinese Internet users.

The new company will work closely with content providers to provide copyrighted premium video content including movies, TV series, sporting events, animation and other varied content to Internet users through an advertising supported model.

Mr. Yu Gong, formerly president and chief operating officer of China Mobile’s 12580 business, has been appointed chief executive officer of the new company.

“As China’s Internet industry evolves, we have seen increasing demand for high-quality video content on our search platform. By establishing this new company, we will be able to better serve our users and customers with superior content and focused resources,” said Xuyang Ren, Baidu’s vice president of marketing and business development. “I am very excited to work with Mr. Gong, who has strong experience in the internet industry in China, to grow our new company into a leader in the field through product innovation and a robust network of partnerships with leading content providers in China and globally.”

Mr. Yu Gong added, “Online video is a rapidly growing sector in China and I believe Baidu’s search platform will provide a solid foundation for the new company to address the increasing demand for premium content. I am very excited to embark on this new venture.”

Prior to serving as president and chief operating officer of China Mobile’s 12580 business, Mr. Yu Gong was chief operating officer of SOHU.com, Inc. Mr. Gong is a Beijing native and holds a Ph.D. in Automatic Control and Application from Tsinghua University.